September 13th, 2010 4:51 AM
I knew that many of you would respond to
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/mike-friends-blog/if-mosque-isnt-built-no-longer-america">my call to help out the embattled Islamic community center being built in lower Manhattan. I asked each of you to send a dollar (or five or ten) to their nonprofit organization, Cordoba Initiative, as a symbolic act against the bigotry Muslim Americans are facing. To help kick it off, I promised to match dollar-for-dollar up to $10,000, hoping to raise somewhere near that number by the end of this week.
That's not what happened.
Within hours of posting that blog on Saturday, so many thousands of you had responded, we were already far beyond the $10,000 goal. In fact, as of this morning, we're estimating that the funds raised from you have exceeded an amazing $50,000!
The people at the Islamic center
http://twitter.com/Park51/statuses/24298702020">are very appreciative that so many thousands have chosen to come forward in support of America and our First Amendment. And I, too, want to express my gratitude. (Anyone can contribute by clicking
http://www.cordobainitiative.org/?q=content/donate">here.) Times are tough economically, and supporting our Muslim brothers and sisters is not a popular thing to do right now. I am truly touched by your generosity -- and people around the world will know that you, too, represent an America they rarely get to see.
I'd like to share some of the notes we've received from some of you this past weekend along with your donations:
Michael,
More:
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/mike-friends-blog/thousands-true-americans-respond-call-donations-islamic-center